Middle Andaman

For most travellers, Middle Andaman is a gruelling rite of passage to be endured en route to or from the north. The sinuous Andaman Trunk Road, hemmed in by walls of towering forest, winds through kilometres of jungle, and crosses the strait that separates the island from its neighbour, Baratang, by means of a rusting flat-bottomed ferry. The island’s frontier feeling is heightened by the knowledge that the impenetrable forests west of the ATR comprise the Jarawa Tribal Reserve. Of its two main settlements, the more northerly Mayabunder, the port for alluring Interview Island, is slightly more appealing than characterless inland Rangat because of its pleasant setting by the sea, but neither town gives any reason to dally. Baratang, meanwhile, has some interesting mud volcanoes and limestone caves, which can be accessed on the boat trips that run daily except Sunday according to demand.